New start in the new year for flooded Loveland Athletic Club

Remodeled gym will open for business Thursday

By Craig Young Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
12/30/2013 05:58:39 PM MST

Jay Watterson, left, owner of Loveland Athletic Club, and volunteer Jeff Stephens of Loveland use a forklift Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, to move exercise equipment from a storage room. Stephens, a member of the gym, is one of many friends, family members and customers who have been volunteering their time to help the business recover from flood damage.
(
Craig Young
)

LOVELAND -- For years, health club owner Jay Watterson has welcomed crowds of January customers driven by New Year's resolutions to turn over a new leaf and get in shape.

This time, when he opens the doors of Loveland Athletic Club at 5:30 a.m. Jan. 2, he will be making a new start himself.

Watterson's business at 1000 S. Lincoln Ave. was one of many in south Loveland inundated by the Big Thompson River in September.

"We're excited to get back up and running," he said Monday. "We weren't going to let this take us down."

In September, after being told to leave his flooding gym, he watched from a quarter-mile away as the river flowed against the west side of the building, 3 to 4 feet deep.

Jay Watterson and his fiancee and business partner, Terha Tullius, stand Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, in the main exercise room of Loveland Athletic Club, 1000 S. Lincoln Ave. Renovation is nearing completion at the club, which has been closed since the September flood.
(
Craig Young
)

Because the doors are on the south side, the business was spared worse damage, but it still was full of mud and water when he got back in a week later, Watterson said.

Put to the Test

"It really put me to the test. I could have taken a career change," Watterson said. But he decided to make a go of recovering the business.

"He's so passionate," said Terha Tullius, Watterson's fiancee and business partner. "This is what he wants to do for the rest of his life - help people hit their fitness goals."

Two years ago, he moved to his current location on South Lincoln Avenue - the former Loveland Foods meat-processing plant - and renamed the business Loveland Athletic Club.

With the help of the building's owner, who has flood insurance, Watterson has been remodeling the entire 15,000-square-foot gym and planning to add 2,000 more square feet.

He has been approved for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, he said, and is hoping for a flood-recovery grant from the Loveland Chamber of Commerce.

Plans to reopen in November were set back when the owners discovered that the concrete floor was deteriorating and had to be jackhammered out and repoured, Tullius said.

Workers are scrambling to finish rebuilding the reception area, replace drywall, install new flooring, repaint the interior and move the equipment back in.

Fortunately, the mud and water weren't deep enough to ruin the treadmills, Watterson said, so he was able to salvage all his exercise equipment.

'So Many Good People'

Watterson said the help from the community has been overwhelming. Customers have been offering their time to help, crews from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have become regular volunteers, and Caroline Creager, owner of Berthoud Athletic Club, allowed Watterson's trainers and clients to use her facility, he said.

"I'm just thankful there are so many good people out there who helped us," he said.

Watterson doesn't know how many of his 700 previous members will still be with him when the club reopens Thursday, but he's hoping for the best.

"I want to take it to a new level," he said. "I didn't give up on my passion."

Loveland Athletic Club is open 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

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